Los Angeles

LA’s ‘Slow Streets’ Will Limit Traffic To Promote Social Distancing. All Neighborhoods Can Apply

From Laist.com

By Ryan Fonseca

City officials today launched the Slow Streets program, which places signs and temporary barricades on some residential streets — but doesn’t completely close them off to vehicles. The program is starting in two neighborhoods — West L.A./Sawtelle and Del Rey near Culver City — but all communities can apply.

As more Angelenos strive for whatever form of fresh air and exercise they can get during the coronavirus pandemic, you may have noticed more people strolling on sidewalks, walking their dogs and jogging. But city sidewalks are only so wide and many ofthem don’t allow people to stay six feet away while passing their neighbors.

Slow Streets aims to address that need by placing with signage that indicates the streets are for local traffic only.

The changes are designed for residential streets, not main corridors, and will be capped at two miles of streets per community, according to LADOT spokesperson Colin Sweeney. Local residents will not lose parking, and delivery drivers, emergency services and other essential vehicles won’t be affected.

 

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Where All of L.A.’s Protected Bike Lanes Are

From LA.Streetsblog.org

By Joe Linton

Los Angeles has protected bike lanes. Few and far between. But they are here.

For the uninitiated, protected bike lanes (sometimes called cycletracks) are European-style on-street bikeways that include some separation between bicycles and cars. Protected bikeways are safer than conventional bike lanes that put cyclists next to fast-moving cars. Conventional bike lanes tend to favor more confident, intrepid cyclists, while protected lanes are considered appropriate for everyone from “8 to 80” – essentially all ages.

L.A. opened its first parking-protected bike lanes in Northridge in 2015. Prior to then, city transportation engineers stuck to state and federal design standards that in effect prohibited these facilities, which are common in Europe and were beginning to take hold in several large North American cities.

The city’s first two-way protected facility opened this year.

The city of L.A. currently has just ten protected bike facilities, totaling 9.8 center-line miles (or 18.2 lane miles – view spreadsheet.) These facilities are worthwhile, but they represent a drop in the bucket for a city the size of Los Angeles – and nowhere near approaching a protected network.

For comparison, New York City has about 126 lane-miles of protected bike lanes, and is currently installing about twenty new miles each year.  San Francisco (about a tenth of the area of L.A.) has nineteen lane-miles and is expecting to install about twenty new miles over the next two years. San Jose built ten new lane-miles of protected bikeways last year. Chicago has roughly 25 center-line miles of protected bike lane. (Some additional city data at this SBSF post.)

 

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Car Free Streets in Los Angeles?

From La.Curbed.com

By Alissa Walker

If San Francisco can do Market Street—why can’t Los Angeles do Hollywood Boulevard?

San Francisco is banning cars from Market Street, one of the city’s busiest corridors. This should be interpreted as a direct challenge to Los Angeles: Now LA can beat the Bay by closing a major street to cars—before SF’s ban goes into effect in 2025.

Restricting the driving and parking of private cars on a busy thoroughfare doesn’t have to mean designing gated-off pedestrian malls like Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. Transit, taxis, and people with disabilities who use vehicles would still have access to the street, and there would be more space to walk, safer bike and scooter infrastructure, and dedicated lanes for buses. (Plus places for vehicles to cross—see the Market Street plan.)

These types of multimodal streets actually move more people per hour than comparablestreets that are just for cars. Think of it as opening up LA’s streets, not closing them down.

Would it work? It has in New York City, where private cars were banned from 14th Streetearlier this month (it took about three years to plan). Not only did bus ridership increase by 15 percent, no delays or additional traffic have been reported on nearby routes. The result is a quieter, calmer, faster journey for everyone—just look at all the people using the street.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti just returned from Copenhagen, where he was elected chair of the C40 organization, a global group of 100 mayors who have pledged to dramatically reduce emissions in their cities. Many of these mayors have already removed cars from major streets in an effort to achieve their climate goals.

In April, as part of the city’s Green New Deal, the mayor proposed that 50 percent of all LA trips be made by walking, biking, and transit by 2035. That means at least half of the city’s streets must be optimized for those modes within the next 15 years.

Why not get started by bringing these streets to life now—and show the world that this is what climate leadership looks like?

Hollywood Boulevard

Let’s start with the most obvious one. It’s a tourism magnet. It’s already closed to private vehicles a lot of the time for special events. During the month when the Oscars are held, it’s closed more than it’s open. Plus, a car-free Walk of Fame has got momentum: After Hollywood Boulevard hosted CicLAvia last summer, the remarkable photos of thousands of people taking over the street made the case for kicking out cars for good.

 

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8 Amazing Bike Rides In Los Angeles

From LAIst.com

By Matt Tinoco

 

Los Angeles and the bicycle have a love/hate relationship. With gorgeous weather and tons of space, the city is perfect for riding. On the other hand, riding a bicycle in L.A. means traffic, sporadic bike lanes and aggressive drivers who don’t respect cyclists.

That’s why all of these rides take place on roads that are entirely car-free or have light traffic. They’ll also work for folks of all fitness levels. They are listed, roughly, in ascending order of difficulty, from a pleasant summer evening spin to a sweaty mountainous excursion. And we’ve included Google Maps hyperlinks to all the routes. Happy pedaling!

 

Cogswell Dam

Let’s start out with the one you probably don’t know about.

In the San Gabriel Mountains above Azusa is the gorgeous 7.5-mile Devils Canyon Dam Truck Trail. This gentle climbing from Highway 39 to the Cogswell Dam is one of the most beautiful rides in all of Southern California.

The road itself parallels a small but always audible creek, fed by the upriver dam. Often shaded by trees and mountains, the road offers riders a cool, relaxed ride. No cell service here. It’s just you, your bike, a bubbling brook and the San Gabriel Mountains. Picnic tables are plentiful along the road, so you can stop and nosh or take it all in. Remember that you’re in the Angeles National Forest, and any trash you bring in, you’ll have to pack out.

As for the difficulty, the between Highway 39 and the dam has a gentle slope. You probably won’t even notice the grade until you turn around and realize you’re going faster. If you want to go up to the dam itself, there’s a short, steep grade at the end of the road but the first 7 miles of the road are the main attraction. This is an easy, low intensity ride so bring the kids.

Aside from its haunting beauty, the road is closed to all public vehicular traffic. You might pass a car or truck driven by a public works employee but they’re courteous and know to look out for cyclists and hikers. Pedestrian traffic, especially on weekends, can be high for the first mile or so. Once you get past the main recreation and fishing areas, it’s like you’re alone in the forest.

Directions: You’re going into the mountains for this one, so you’ll need a car is. Exit the 210 freeway (in Azusa) at Azusa Avenue/Highway 39. Orient your car north (towards the mountains) and keep driving. The road you’re looking for will be 20ish minutes from the freeway, just past the junction of Highway 39 and East Fork Road (you’ll see a bridge). Here’s a Google Maps linkwith the precise location of the dam road. You can park on the side of the road, or in a parking lot a quarter of a mile back off Highway 39.

 

Ballona Creek Bike Path

Running from Culver City to Playa Del Rey, the Ballona Creek path lets Angelenos ride 7.4 car-free miles straight to the beach. The path picks up close to the intersection of Jefferson and National boulevards, where it’s bumpy and in poor condition for the first mile or so. Your best bet is to get on the path at Duquesne Avenue in Culver City, and head for the beach.

If you’re going in the afternoon, you’ll likely have to deal with a light headwind while heading west. On the bright side, this will turn into a great tailwind on your way back. You’ll find drinking fountains along the pathway, in adjacent parks and parklets.

For extra credit, stop at the Baldwin Hills Stairs and Scenic Overlook, at the intersection of Hetzler Road and Jefferson Boulevard. It’s a great outdoor park without the pretension of someother hiking areas in L.A. There are plenty of bike racks at the bottom of the stairs, but if you’re feeling particularly daring, try riding up to the top on Hetzler.

Directions: Parking is plentiful along Duquesne Avenue and in the neighborhood near the start of the path. If you fancy yourself more a car-free type, the Expo Line also runs nearby. From the La Cienega Station, ride southwest along Jefferson (which has a good bike lane, just watch out for doors) until it intersects with Duquesne, at which point you’ll turn right. Alternatively, the La Cienega Station is close to the start of the Ballona Path, so you don’t need to ride on Jefferson at all, if you don’t want to. There are also entry points at most major streets (and some residential ones) that the path crosses on its way to the beach. Play with the maps to see what works best for you.

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